Muscular Dystrophy UK has been awarded the prestigious Best Show Garden accolade at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for their innovative Forest Bathing Garden, designed by the acclaimed garden and landscape designer Ula Maria. Premier is honoured to have supported this meaningful project by providing material to print their brochures and bookmarks for the show. They were printed on Inaset Plus Offset, a high white FSC® Certified paper, which has excellent contrast and definition, giving optimised colour printing results.

Ula Maria, based in London, specialises in creating emotive and immersive outdoor spaces for private and commercial clients in the UK and overseas. Her innate connection with nature originates from her childhood spent in her family’s countryside home in rural Lithuania, surrounded by wildflower meadows, pine forests, wild streams, and rivers. Ula’s favourite gardens are infused with ideas about time, memories, and connections, evoking an emotional response and offering a sense of comforting familiarity or otherworldliness.

Ula Maria shared “This garden is all about connections: whether to oneself, nature, or others. It is meant to serve as a sanctuary whilst offering an immersive forest bathing experience. It is my hope that this garden will increase awareness of how places that are inspired by the people who inhabit them can have a meaningful effect on communities”

The Forest Bathing Garden, designed to offer therapeutic benefits to people living with muscle-wasting conditions, features 4,000 plants with rich foliage and vibrant bursts of colour. These plants were supplied by Kelways, with trees provided by Deepdale.

Charlotte, mother to Josie (age 7) who has Ullrich congenital muscular dystrophy shared, “As a family, we love the outdoors and use nature to show our daughter Josie that despite her condition, she can enjoy all that nature offers.”

Forest bathing, or Shinrin-yoku, is an ancient Japanese practice of immersing oneself in a forest atmosphere to enhance well-being. The garden creates a sheltered, accessible space for visitors to reconnect with nature, themselves, and each other.

The garden’s central hub features informal seating and sculptural knapped flint walls, chosen for their beautiful texture reminiscent of muscle cells. A large bungaroosh-style wall, constructed with reclaimed and recycled materials, demonstrates sustainable building practices.

After the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, the garden will be relocated to The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow. This hospice provides care and support for those with life-limiting conditions. The garden will offer a unique outdoor space for patients, their families, and the local community.

Ula Maria expressed, “It means a lot to me that the garden will continue to bring joy and have a positive impact on the local community. I’m excited to see it in its new home.”

Supporting good causes and projects such as this, is an extension of who Premier are as a company, their values, and their ethos, which is shared with their owners, OVOL Japan Pulp and Paper Group. For more information about the supporters and suppliers who helped bring this beautiful garden to life, please visit Muscular Dystrophy UK.

Press Contact: David Jones – Group Marketing Director marketing@paper.co.uk
Premier Paper Group www.paper.co.uk

About Premier
The Premier Paper Group is a leading supplier of paper, packaging and materials to the UK market. In turn, Premier is part of OVOL Japan Pulp & Paper Co. Ltd., a global company that operates in 23 countries across diverse sectors such as ICT systems, real estate, power generation and paper manufactory & distribution.

About Muscular Dystrophy UK
Muscular Dystrophy UK is the leading charity bringing individuals, families, and professionals together to fight muscle-wasting conditions. For more information, visit Muscular Dystrophy UK.